Aster
by xXThe.Black.Parade.Is.DeadXx
Summary: Oneshots and drabbles for the paring Aster (Conner/Dick) since they need more love. Rated T for now. Also includes Daddy!Bats, Uncle!Clark, Big Bro!Wally and Roy, Big Sis!Artemis and M'gann, Baby Bro!Jason and Tim, and Mama!Catwoman, Wonder Woman, and various female Leaguers.
1. Safe and Sound

**A/N: I hate coming up with titles...**

**So, this is a collection of oneshots and drabbles centering around one of my many OTPs, Aster (Conner/Dick). There just isn't enough Aster fics, which annoys me to death, so I thought, "Hey, why don't I make a collection with Aster?"**

**So... here you go.**

**Also, the title is not a refrence to the Taylor Swift song. I've never heard it, anyway. I just couldn't think of a very good title.**

* * *

**Safe and Sound**

* * *

Dick had been Nightwing for about a year. Within that time, he had told his team who he really was (he did not acknowledge or deny Bruce Wayne being Batman, though that was not a problem, since half the team didn't even know who Bruce Wayne was), started patrolling Bludhaven once or twice a week, and stayed at the mountain more often, since he really didn't want to face Bruce _or_ Batman. When the team had a bonfire celebrating Dick becoming Nightwing (Wally made several Pokemon jokes), Dick finally told them his origin story. It was still a difficult story to tell, that was evident, but compared to when was just starting out, he really did keep it together.

Dick had also grown closer to Conner. Since Wally and Artemis had left the team in order to focus on college, and Dick was busy balancing the hero life along with school, three jazz ensembles, winter guard (Wally had laughed at him when he said he was doing winter guard), winter percussion, show choir, and the occasional musical or play at school, they had little to no time to hang out. So, Dick found himself hanging out with Conner, talking about everything from crushes to that teacher that just hated so-and-so to the shit hitting the fan in whatever sport/after school activity. Eventually, Conner and Dick were about as close as Dick and Wally were (**huge** emphasis on _**were**_). Dick found a confidant in Conner, just as Conner found a confidant in Dick. They ended up being as close as brothers (and one would think they were, considering the fact that both had black hair and blue eyes), and they'd have each other's back.

Both of them know they could count on one another for anything. Conner would take any bullets that would be shot at Dick, since they would just bounce off his chest. If there was Kryptonite involved in any mission, Dick would be quick about getting the deadly green rock into a lead-lined pouch in his utility belt.

Unfortunately, they couldn't protect each other from everything.

Dick Grayson was always one to get himself in trouble. Back when he was Robin, trouble seemed to follow him like a lost puppy, only it wasn't as adorable. Trouble meant an insane clown and a lovesick ex-psychiatrist. Trouble meant a guy with a personality split in two, just as his face was, and a coin. Trouble meant a girl who controlled plants.

Trouble meant being "the boy hostage."

Now, when Dick gave up the mantle of Robin (Okay, _**okay**_, he was _**fired**_. Same difference.), he had thought he was totally done with being "Robin, the Boy Hostage." He thought that, by becoming his own man (Or going against the orders of his mentor/boss/father. Again, same difference.), he would not be the rogues' way of getting to the big bad bat. Out with Robin, the Boy Wonder/Blunder/Hostage (though he would deny those last two), and in with Nightwing. Alas, the puppy known as trouble continued to trail behind the teenager, much to his frustration.

And trouble sure as hell didn't go easy on him this time.

* * *

The mission was somewhere between totally easy and incredibly deadly. Batman sent the team to several different places for this mission. Batgirl and Troia were in Rome, Zatanna and Rocket in Cardiff, Aqualad, Tempest, and Aquagirl in the Mediterranean, Robin and Miss Martian in Vienna, and Nightwing and Superboy in Transylvania. There had been a number of assassination attempts on public figures that have done wonderful, humanitarian acts, so Batman sent them to protect certain political figures that were threatened.

"_Alpha reporting. No assassin just yet."_

"_Beta. No attempts."_

"_Gama reporting in. An attempt has been made and assassin has been detained."_

"_Delta squad, threats were actually false alarms, confirmed by security and the big man himself."_

"Epsilon reporting in." Nightwing said over the comm. link, "Nothing yet, but the night's still young."

"_Acknowledged. I will have Miss Martian and Robin on standby. Miss Martian, how soon can you reach Transylvania?"_

"_At the Bioship's top speed, I should be there in less than an hour."_

"Great." Nightwing said, "Nightwing out."

Superboy stared at the press conference down below. The clone didn't pay attention to who he was protecting, and he didn't know the guy's name, but he honestly didn't care. He was having a pretty bad day, anyway, so the last thing he wanted to hear when he got back from school was "Team, report for mission."

Superboy glanced over at Nightwing. The sixteen-year-old looked tired, most likely from balancing a number of things on his shoulders. In addition to patrolling Gotham, he now patrolled Bludhaven one or two times a week, so in a way, he was now pulling double duty. Adding on to that was his break-up with Zatanna, which seemed to hit him pretty hard (even though he was the one that decided to end it).

"Are you feeling okay?" Superboy asked.

"Honestly," Nightwing sighed, not looking away from the politician they were supposed to protect, "I feel like crap. Haven't had enough sleep… and Jay-bird's a handful." The teen chuckled, "Although, it feels good not being the baby of the team. It was starting to get on my nerves."

"What's wrong with that?"

"Have you seen M'gann's reaction to me getting even a little scratch?"

"Point taken." Superboy said, "But you are like a little brother to us. We're a family, and we protect each other."

"Yeah. Yeah, we do." Nightwing smiled, "And I'm not that little anymore! I was, what, four foot nine when we started out? Now, I'm about as tall as Artemis."

"What is Batman feeding you, man? No kid grows that fast."

"Growth spurt, maybe?"

"Yeah, maybe."

Nightwing looked back to the politician he was protecting with Superboy. His gaze slowly railed up the building across from the one they were in. Nightwing thought he saw something move in the building, which should've been closed.

"There's someone over there." Nightwing said, "Nobody should be there… I'll go check it out. Stay here."

"But-"

Nightwing cut the boy of steel off, "If I'm not back in five minutes, that means I'm probably in too deep. Call in backup if you need to go. Remember, protecting this guy is priority."

Superboy didn't have a chance to reply when Nightwing shot a line and swung over to the building just across from them. The boy of steel bit back a curse and went back to looking down to whatshisface.

* * *

_Four fifty-nine…_

_Four fifty-eight…_

_Four fifty-seven…_

The building was completely dark, forcing Nightwing to switch to night vision. The area was now a dark green, rather than pitch black-

_Why green? Why not blue or red or-_

_Focus, Grayson_. Nightwing thought to himself.

Nightwing was now on the upper floor, having picked the lock on the roof that led here. _Now, I saw movement to floors down… and I have no time to check each room facing the street._

Quickest solution? Hack.

_Three forty-five…_

_Three forty-four…_

_Three forty-three…_

It took seconds to hack the cameras in the surveillance room. Nobody was in there, which was _**stupid**_, but Nightwing chose to hack first, worry about that later.

_Let's see… room 152… 153… 154… 155… 156… 157… wait a minute… yeah, there he is! Room 157, two floors down!_

Nightwing made his way down two flights of stairs, preparing himself for a fight. This guy may have been highly trained, highly paid, or both. Proceeding with caution, Nightwing crept down the hallway, making sure to stay in the shadows.

_Two thirty-seven…_

_Two thirty-six…_

_Two thirty-five…_

The door to room 157 was open, so Nightwing didn't need to worry about the crook hearing him enter the room. But, Nightwing still treaded carefully. One small step out of place, one squeak of the floorboards, one loud breath, and he'll be caught.

_One twenty-two…_

_One twenty-one…_

_One-twenty…_

Nightwing was only a foot away when the assassin turned around.

* * *

_Seventeen…_

_Sixteen…_

_Fifteen…_

_Fourteen seconds,_ Superboy told himself. There were fourteen seconds left until he would rush in, making sure Nightwing was okay.

Lately, the clone of Superman had been having these strange feelings towards the former boy wonder. He found himself being a bit more protective of him than he should have been, but it didn't feel wrong at all. But the education given to him by the genomes told him that it wasn't right by some people's standards.

_Ten…_

_Nine…_

_Eight…_

"He'll be fine… he'll be fine." Superboy kept saying.

_Five…_

Superboy needed to calm down. He took a deep breath. "He's okay… he's a bat… he's okay."

_Four…_

Superboy picks up the sound of a hammer of a gun being pulled back…

_Three…_

Two heartbeats… one's fast, the other is slowing down.

_Two…_

The trigger is pulled.

_One…_

Superboy jumps from the rooftop of this building to the one across the road.

_Zero…_

_**Bang!**_

* * *

It didn't take Superboy long at all to figure out where Nightwing was. He just had to follow the sound of the heartbeats.

Another gunshot.

_Please be okay, please be okay, pleasebeokay._

Another.

In the room, standing over Nightwing was Deadshot. He turned to see the clone of Superman standing in the doorway, a mixture of shock and anger on his face.

"Oh, great… I take down one, and another comes." Deadshot remarked.

Superboy said nothing. Instead, he chose to put this guy in a body cast and ask questions later.

"You hurt my friend." Superboy said.

"So what if I did? Not like you can do much of anything. No hear vision, no super breath, no flight, and Kryptonite will take you right out… and I came prepared for this."

Deadshot raised his gun, prepared to shoot, when a batarang struck his hand, knocking the gun away.

"Oww! God, you're harder to kill than I thought!" Deadshot hissed at Nightwing. With his other hand (the one with a gun attached to the glove), he shot at Nightwing.

Had Superboy not pushed into Deadshot, the bullet would've hit him. It did, however, graze the teen's arm.

Superboy knocked Deadshot out and tied him up before going over to Nightwing. It was difficult to survey the damage in the dark, but judging from Nightwing's breathing and his heart rate, he was in pain.

"Nightwing… Dick, hold on. Just… hold on." Conner said. He earned a groan as a response.

"Superboy to Miss Martian. How long will it take you to get the Bioship to our exact location?"

"_Five minutes. What's wrong?"_

"It's Nightwing. He's… he's hurt. We need to get him back to the mountain."

"_What happened to him? Who did it?" _Jason heard over the comm. link. Superboy tried to ignore the panic in the new Robin's voice.

"Deadshot happened. He was just about to assassinate our guy when Nightwing intervened." Superboy said, "He's unconscious now and he's been restrained. Just… hurry up. Get here as fast as you can."

"_ETA five minutes. For now, Superboy, just keep him alive."_

Superboy chose to do just that instead of responding.

About a year and a half ago, Nightwing had suggested that Conner take some gadgets and medical supplies with him on missions, since he didn't have heat vision or super breath or flight that could be used in battle. It was actually a pretty good idea, considering the fact that brute strength could not always be used in a battle (especially against someone like Parasite). There were also times when a member of the team would be injured and need medical assistance. (Sure, typically, it was usually greater than a scratch, but that usually meant a broken bone or a very deep gash that could get infected if not treated properly, not someone bleeding on the floor and dying.)

People were in a panic on the streets, having heard the gunshots from earlier, so nobody would really notice the light in the room. This gave him a chance to see how bad Nightwing's wounds were.

He didn't like what he was seeing.

One bullet went through Dick's chest, but it didn't hit any major arteries, and it wasn't lodged into his chest. Another had only grazed his cheek. A third one had hit his leg, and the bullet was stuck in his knee. The last one had only grazed his arm. There were various bruises and small scratches here and there as well.

"'Wing, listen to me. You have to stay awake. Don't close your eyes, okay?" Conner asked.

Nightwing nodded, "S-supes… it's bad, i-isn't it?"

"Yeah… it is." Superboy said, "I'm going to try to stop the bleeding. Just keep talking."

"Kon… I w-wanted you to- _agh!_- know s-something."

"Yeah?" Superboy looked over at Nightwing's face, still keeping pressure on the wound.

"I… I kinda h-have this c-crush on someone. Someone close to me."

"Who?" The clone gently wrapped the gauze around Nightwing's knee. When he was finished, he lifted Nightwing up slightly and made him lean against the wall in order for him to be able work on his chest next.

"He's… he's tall, with black hair and blue eyes, like me. Really strong, but at the same time, gentle."

Superboy gave him a look of confusion.

"Really, Kon? Doesn't ring any bells?"

Superboy shook his head.

"It's y-you, Kon. You're so d-dense, you know that?"

Conner's heart nearly stops in his chest- _holyshithefeelsthesameway_- but he continues to wrap the gauze around the former boy wonder's chest. He wasn't sure how to respond.

"_Conner, we're almost there. We'll be there in a minute."_

"Alright, M'gann. We'll be on the rooftop. I'll leave Deadshot to the authorities." Superboy said. He turned back to Nightwing. "They'll be here in a minute. I need to move you to the rooftop. It's gonna hurt."

Nightwing nodded. Superboy lifted Nightwing up in his arms bridal style. Superboy moved towards the roof as fast as he could without causing the teen in his arms too much pain. Said teen was clutching the clone's shirt, most likely to keep from screaming in pain.

When Superboy and Nightwing were in the Bioship, they noticed that M'gann and Jason had made the necessary preparations in advance. Superboy set Nightwing down on the medical table.

"How long until we get to Mount Justice?"

"About two hours." M'gann said.

Conner resisted the urge to punch something. "Zeta Tube?"

"Three minutes."

"Have you called the League?"

"Yeah," Jason said, "Medlab has been prepped for surgery."

"Okay. Get us to the nearest Zeta Tube." Conner turned his attention to Dick, "Dick, do you think you can hold on for three minutes?"

"Y-yeah." Nightwing said. His voice was barely above a whisper.

Three minutes felt more like three hours to Conner. Jason was the one flying the Bioship, since M'gann was needed to heal Dick's wounds and Conner refused to move from his spot next to Dick. Jason kept glancing back at Dick. (The youngest wouldn't admit it, but he did look up to Dick as a brother.)

Dick wanted to close his eyes as M'gann worked on the wound in his chest. Conner had to keep a conversation going between him and Dick.

At last, after three of the longest minutes of his life, Conner was able to lift Dick up off the medical table and go to the Zeta Beam. Jason came with Dick and Conner, while M'gann took the Bioship back. She said she'd call Artemis and Wally, knowing that they'd want to know about this.

Conner didn't hear the computer read off their designations. He was only focused on Dick's heartbeat and breathing. Superman, Batman, Martian Manhunter, and Doctor Mid-Nite were waiting for them with a gurney. Conner tried to follow, but Superman stopped him.

"You need to stay here, Kon-El. I promise you, he's in good hands." Superman said, "I'm needed for the operation. I need you-" Superman motioned towards Jason, "-to be there for Jason. He may not show it, but he's worried. He needs a friend."

Conner nodded. Superman headed towards the medlab to do what he could to help the boy who was like a nephew to him.

* * *

"He'll be just fine, boys. No patrol or missions for a month or two, though." Superman said.

Conner was relieved. Dick was fine, just as Superman said.

"Can I see him?" Conner asked.

"You'll need to ask Batman that, Kon-El."

Conner didn't need to be told twice. He went off to the medlab, only to find it empty with the exception of Martian Manhunter.

"J'onn, where are Batman and Nightwing?" Conner asked.

"Batman took Nightwing to his room." J'onn said, "He has a strong dislike for hospital facilities or anything that resembles one, so Batman thought it would be best to move him while he was still asleep."

"Thanks, J'onn."

Conner ran to Dick's room (which was rarely used) and knocked on the door. Batman opened the door slightly, enough for Conner to see part of the dark knight's face.

"Um… can I see him?" Conner asked.

Batman nodded. The dark knight opened the door and Conner walked through.

Conner had only been in Dick's room one time before. Dick had fallen asleep on the couch after a fairly exhausting mission, and Conner volunteered to take him to his room. That time, he hadn't really gotten a very good look at it.

The room was very warm and welcoming, considering the fact that it wasn't used much_._ There were a few posters here and there of various members of the Justice League (mostly Batman), deadmau5, Skrillex, Muse, Evanescence, Flyleaf, Panic! At the Disco, My Chemical Romance, and Gwen Stefani (Hello, blackmail material!).The bookshelf on the wall was full of fictional stories, from popular fantasy series such _Harry Potter _and _Percy Jackson and the Olympians_ to classics such as Bram Stroker's _Dracula_ and F. Scott Fitzgerald's _The Great Gatsby_. There were CDs on one of the tables, as well as a radio. There was a desk on the other side of the room with several files, a laptop, and a notebook. There was another, much larger table not too far from the desk with an open sketchbook (there was a drawing of a car in it… a blueprint, perhaps?), a few broken birdarangs and batarangs, an unfinished prototype, and a blueprint for said prototype.

"Not something you were expecting from someone like him." It was a statement, not a question. Batman's voice had nearly caused the clone to jump a few feet in the air.

"No… not at all. I mean, even after he became Nightwing, and he started staying more often, even then it wasn't really _that_ often." Conner said, "It's like a home for someone."

"Mount Justice has become a second home to him. You all are his second family. So, yes, in a way, this is home."

Conner nodded. Technically, Mount Justice was home, and he chose to stay even after Clark invited him to stay with him and Lois or when Ma and Pa Kent invited him to stay in Smallville.

Conner picked the sketchbook up off the table with the broken weapons and the prototype and flipped through it. "Cars, weapons, costumes… the Batplane… the Batboat… wow. Did he-"

"Design them? Yes. He's been very fascinated with machines and technology, even before he officially became Robin. He designed the R-Cycle, the Wing-cycle, three different Batmobiles, one of which is currently in use, the current Batplane, and all three of his costumes as well as Jason's Robin costume. I doubt I'd have half of the things I have if it weren't for his mechanical skills."

Conner had never heard Batman talk this much about anything other than missions, much less about his adopted son. It's obvious that he thinks very highly of Dick's skill level, and only pushes him so hard to make him stronger.

Conner glanced over at Dick. The teen wasn't wearing a mask (What was the point in that if everyone already know who you were?). There was a blood bag replacing the blood Dick had lost after being shot as four times. A bandage was on his cheek where one of the bullets grazed him. His upper arm was wrapped in gauze from where another bullet grazed him. He couldn't see the bandages on his chest and leg, but he didn't _want_ to see it, either. What mattered now, though, was the fact that Dick was safe and sound.

Conner found himself brushing Dick's soft black bangs out of his face. His hair contrasted greatly with his pale skin.

Conner was so distracted by the teen's appearance, he didn't even notice Dick wake up.

"Uh… hi?" Dick said.

Wow… uhm, _awkward_.

"Um… hi…" Conner replied.

So awkward, Batman even decided to leave.

Dick couldn't be more thankful. The younger sat up with the help of the older.

"Um… Conner, about what I said- _mmph_!"

Conner had interrupted him with a kiss. The kiss didn't last for more than a few seconds, but within those few seconds, sparks were flying.

"Yeah… I kinda felt the same way. I just thought it wasn't a very good time to respond." Conner smiled slightly.

"Hehe… I guess so. Yeah." Dick grinned. Even though he was very aware that he'd be bedridden for a few months, he was still pretty happy because, well, _he kinda just kissed Conner Kent_.

"So… are you feeling okay?" Conner asked. _Gah, stupid question._

"Eh… better than a few hours ago." Dick yawned.

Conner smiled, "I'm guessing they gave you some strong medication. Get back to sleep."

Dick scooted over. "Would you stay? Please?"

Conner nodded, "Sure."

Conner was careful about Dick's leg and chest as he got into the bed. He laid Dick down on top of him, with his head resting on the clone's chest.

"So… what does this make us?" Dick asked sleepily.

"Boyfriends, I guess. Unless you don't want to be, I mean." Conner said, running a hand gently through Dick's soft black locks.

Dick smiled, "Believe me, I want to be with you."

"Boyfriends it is, then," Conner said, kissing Dick's forehead, "Now, go back to sleep. You're exhausted."

Dick made no reply. The bird had fallen asleep to the sound of Conner's heartbeat.

The two were soon sound asleep in each other's arms.

Unbeknownst to the two, Batman had been just outside the door, listening in. He smirked slightly. Batman had been very well aware of Dick and Conner's feelings for each other. And he was fine with the relationship, as long as Dick was happy… and as long as Conner didn't go too far.

* * *

**A/N: I love countdown sequences. They build up this suspense... and I just love suspence.**

**Also, I've been getting into that new show, "Hannibal." If you don't know what it is, look it up and watch it. IT'S ADDICTIVE.**

**Another note: I now ship Klarion and Dick. WHEN WILL MY REIGN OF SHIPPING END?!**


	2. Drabbles I

**A/N: I hate doing drabbles. I have trouble fitting a story into five hundred words or less. However, drabbles do help with ideas, so a few of these drabbles might be extended.**

* * *

**[Not] Alone**

Dick hated being alone, even more so than he hated silence. As Robin, when he was patrolling Gotham with Batman, he found that the silence was never as painful, since he had Batman with him. At school, his only true friend was Barbara.

When the team started, he thought he wouldn't feel as alone, since there were other teen heroes that were around his age. Wally was there, and that was pretty cool, but being the only human on the team kinda sucked.

When Artemis joined, it got a little better. Now, he wasn't the only human, but he still felt alone. Everyone was older than he was (technically, Conner was younger, but physically, he was sixteen), and nobody wanted to listen to a little kid.

It was when Dick and Conner started going out when he realized that he was not alone, not at all. His friends supported his decisions, supported him when he finally came out.

Dick Grayson wasn't alone. Not anymore.

* * *

_**Arsenic and Old Lace**_

"Come on, Conner, it'll be fun!"

"Dick, the last time you said that, we went to see some stupid musical."

"Oh, come on! _Thoroughly Modern Millie _was not that bad!" Dick said, "I mean, who would've thought Millie would have thrown up all over the first three rows?"

"That was my favorite shirt." Conner said.

"Conner, I don't know if you know this, but all of your shirts _look exactly the same_."

"It still was my favorite…"

Dick sighed. "Oh, well… I guess we could just go to the mountain and listen to Artemis and Wally fight over something stupid…"

Conner grabbed Dick's hand, "To the theatre!"

…

"You were right, Dick, that was fun." Conner said.

"Yep. And Mortimer didn't throw up on anyone." Dick said, "Would you believe this is Bruce's favorite play?"

"…Bruce has time to watch plays?"

"My thoughts exactly."

* * *

**Allons-y!**

One of the first actual things Conner had seen on TV was _Doctor Who_. And, man, _it was addictive!_

Conner was introduced to it on accident, actually. One Saturday, at about three in the morning, he heard something from the recreation room at Mount Justice. Conner had decided to investigate. Upon entering the room, he found Robin watching the television, with several DVD cases scattered around him.

"Hi, Conner." Robin said, not looking away from the television.

_How does he do that?!_

"What're you watching?" Conner asked.

"_Doctor Who_." The thirteen-year-old replied, "Series four of the reboot, actually."

"Mind if I join you?"

Robin smiled, "Sure. But I'm warning you, it's addictive."

…

_Five Years Later_

"What? You've **never** seen _Doctor Who_?" Dick asked his little brother. Tim was staying at Dick's apartment in Bludhaven for a week or two, since Bruce was away on business and Alfred was visiting family in England.

"I haven't had time. AP classes, the team, patrolling, you know how it is." Tim said, shrugging.

"That's never stopped me before." Dick said, "I mean, I made time."

"Half of our dates were just cuddling on the couch or bed and watching _Doctor Who_." Conner said, "You wouldn't believe how many times we-"

"He doesn't need to know about _that_." Dick said, blushing. Tim rolled his eyes. He was fourteen, for crying out loud! He heard about worse in the hallways of Gotham Academy.

"Right, right."

"So," Dick said as he went through the shelf full of DVDs, "Why don't we just skip patrol for the night and introduce you to Doctor Who? I have all the known episodes here."

"But-"

"No buts. We're going to transform you into a Whovian, whether you like it or not."

…

"Allons-y, everybody!"

"Eh… what did Robin just say?" Cassie asked.

* * *

**Adorable**

Everyone on the League and team thought Robin was incredibly adorable. He was small for his age (about four foot nine and kind of scrawny), and childish as well. Even if Conner was in one of his moods (and that was quite often), he found that his day was a little brighter when the little bird smiled up at him.

His adorableness was always at his greatest when he slept. Robin always looked so peaceful. It also reminded everyone just how young he was.

So, when M'gann found Robin snuggled up against Conner, head resting the clone's chest, she had a difficult time biting back a squeal. After she (silently) fangirled for a few minutes, she ran to get her camera.

She now had material for what Earthlings called "fan fiction," and was now going write one about her latest ship.

* * *

**Adele**

Conner found music to be great for any occasion. He liked every genre that existed, and would try any band or artist out there. For the most part, he liked everything, but there were exceptions. (Justin Bieber, One Direction, Taylor Swift… just to name a few.)

For training and venting, he had As I Lay Dying and Korn. For those moments when he was depressed, he had Carrie Underwood and Lady Antebellum. For something to listen to when he was bored, he had music from musicals such as _Little Shop of Horrors_ and _Wicked_. And for everything else he had Skrillex, deadmau5, and LMFAO.

His favorite artist, though, was Adele. There was something about her songs that spoke to him. He wasn't really sure what it was, nor did he care, but he enjoyed Adele. Any album with Adele in it was bought. He had even seen _Skyfall _just because Adele sang its theme song.

Conner was walking over to his room when he heard a very familiar melody. It was coming from Ro- no, Dick's room.

When Dick became Nightwing, he had told the team who he was. That was about a week ago, and he still couldn't bring himself to call him Nightwing, much less Dick.

Conner opened the door to Dick's room slightly. Yes, the melody was very familiar…

"_Let the sky fall… when it crumbles… we will stand tall, face it all together._"

Dick was singing along to Adele's song. And it was amazing… Dick had a beautiful voice (one that sounds a lot like Jessie McCartney…) and he knew every word to Adele's _Skyfall_ by heart.

The clone wondered if he should join in or not. He eventually decided against it, waiting for Dick to finish.

"That was beautiful." Conner remarked when Dick finished singing. Dick jumped. "Conner! Uh… how long have you been standing there?"

"Since '_let the sky fall.'_ That was really great, Dick. I wasn't aware that you were an Adele fan."

Dick was still blushing, obviously quite embarrassed. Conner smiled, "There's nothing to be embarrassed about. To tell the truth, I'm an Adele fan, too. She's the reason I went to see _Skyfall_."

Dick smiled, "It's not that I was so embarrassed about… it was my… um… singing."

"Why would you be embarrassed about that? It was amazing."

"Wally would totally make fun of me for it."

"Ah… well, don't let him get to you. I thought it was great." Conner smiled, kneeling down slightly to Dick's level. _Skyfall_ had started playing again, and Conner joined Dick in singing it.

"_Let the sky fall… when it crumbles… we will stand tall, face it all together._"

Dick and Conner looked into each other's eyes. Without another thought, they kissed.

* * *

**Artemis Ships It**

The entire team was in the recreation room of Mount Justice. Robin (who, as of now, was technically _**not**_ Robin anymore) told everyone that he had something important to say. Actually, he had multiple things to say, which left people wondering what those things were.

"Robin, you said you had something to tell us." Kaldur said. There was a look of concern on his face.

"Yeah. It's not really bad, per se, but… yeah." Robin said. The bird removed his sunglasses, revealing captivating blue eyes.

"My name is Richard John Grayson-Wayne, but you can call me Dick." Dick smirked at Artemis, who looked like she was about to throw something at him.

"There's something else, isn't there?" Wally asked. Dick nodded.

"I'm… I'm gay. Zatanna, she helped me realize it." Dick turned to Zatanna, "I'm sorry that's why we had to end our relationship. It… it wasn't fair to you, not at all."

There was silence in the room. Dick stood there, obviously uncomfortable. Any second now, they'll start yelling at him-

M'gann squealed and pulled him into a hug. A very, very _**tight**_one, at that.

"I knew it! I totally knew it!" Wally yelled, "You owe me ten bucks, Artemis!"

"Wha- you made a bet? What the hell, man?" Dick yelled.

"Sorry, sorry. But I do have the best gaydar in the world, I swear." Wally said, "But, seriously, dude, did you think we were going to hate you for being who you are? I mean, I couldn't hate my best friend for being gay."

"There is nothing wrong with it." Kaldur assured the younger, "In Atlantis, we believe in free love. I only wish that the surface world could believe in it as wall."

"And I kinda knew you were gay, Dick." Zatanna said, "I don't know how, but I did. And that's okay."

"So…" Dick said, "You guys aren't disgusted?"

"No." Conner said, "It takes guts to come out like that. I have to say, I'm proud."

Dick smiled and blushed lightly, hoping nobody saw it.

Alas, Artemis saw it, and pulled out her shipping notepad.

_Dick is so crushing on Conner._

* * *

**Anywhere But Here**

"Dick? Are you okay?"

It was a stupid question. The fact that Dick was at his parent's graves meant that he was anything but okay.

Dick shook his head, "No. Not at all, Conner."

Conner sighed. He pulled Dick into a hug and kissed his cheek. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No." Dick buried his face into his boyfriend's chest.

Conner gently ran a hand though Dick's soft black hair. "I know this can't be easy for you. Learning that your ancestors were assassins and that you were supposed to be one, too… I can't imagine it. But, I do know what you're going through. I was the same way when I discovered that I had some of Lex Luthor's DNA."

"There's more to it than that, Conner." Dick said, "Everything from the circus was a lie. I don't even know if my parents knew about the selection book. How do I know if they themselves were somehow involved? How do I know if they were members of the court itself? Jack didn't give a damn about me or my family. He was offering us up for money to the Court of Owls. Had my parents not died that night… oh my god…"

"Shhh… Dick, it happened. You're okay… you're here, with us… with me." Conner kissed Dick's forehead, "For all we know, your parents may have refused to give you up to the court. Haley may have staged your parent's death, Dick. I don't know… I can't say for sure. They may have been willing or they may have resisted. They might not have even known it at all. But they took that to the grave with them."

Dick sniffled. The look on his face told him that Conner had not succeeded in trying to cheer him up.

"Do you want to go somewhere else?" Conner asked.

"Yeah… anywhere but here." Dick said.

* * *

**A/N: Here are a few notes on each drabble:**

**[Not] Alone: Technically, all of these drabbles were supposed to begin with words/phrases/ideas/etc that began with the letter 'A'. However, 'not' begins with an 'N,' not an 'A.' But this was such a good idea, and I knew that if I waited for 'N,' I would've forgotten. Thank god for brackets :D**

_**Arsenic and Old Lace**_**: If you ever get the chance, watch the movie version. I actually watched the play last week and thought it was hilarious. As for ___Thoroughly Modern Millie_, I do not think Millie threw up on anyone when we did a production of it (I don't know, I didn't get a chance to see it). But I hear it was awesome :D**

**Allons-y!: For any Doctor Who fans, you should know and understand this refrence. The Tenth Doctor was very fond of this phrase, so I thought that it would be perfect for a Doctor Who-related Aster drabble. (I've actually said "Allons-y" before and recieved several strange looks in the hallway at school... they just don't understand greatness.)**

**Adorable: Nothing needs said there. Except that M'gann ships Aster. She can't help it. And she writes fanfiction.**

**Adele: I _love_ Adele. Her voice is so powerful and I just love it. I imagine Conner listening to every genre and almost every artist... I also imagining his favorite artist being Adele. Why not? And if you ever get the chance to listen to Adele's _Skyfall_, LISTEN TO IT. It's my favorite James Bond theme song yet.**

**Artemis Ships It: Artemis also ships Aster. I wonder if Zatanna ships it, too...**

**Anywhere But Here: This is the title of a Mayday Parade song. It's not really inspired by the sing itself...**


	3. Sick

**A/N: So, I put a bunch of _Hannibal_ books on hold in order to feed my need for our favorite cannibalistic psychiatrist. I CAN'T WAIT EVERY WEEK FOR A NEW EPISODE OF HANNIBAL, GODDAMN IT!**

**Anyway, we all know a sick Dick Grayson in incredibly adorable... so... yeah.**

* * *

**Sick**

* * *

Dick absolutely _**hated**_ missions to cold places. His Nightwing polar stealth suit may have been insulated, but that didn't stop him from freezing his ass off. And whenever they went to a mission in Antarctica or Greenland or Siberia, it was always for some stupid reason that could've been handled by the League. They were a **covert** operations team, not the JLA's delivery team!

Nightwing cursed at himself for not putting a cape on his polar stealth. As Robin, his polar stealth suit had a faux fur-lined cape with heating filaments, which helped keep him warm. He was stubborn enough to not bother about a cape, which he was starting to regret.

He was so going to kill Batman for this.

The mission was to just pick up something from a lab in Siberia. After months of staying in bed from his encounter with Deadshot in Romania and weeks of physical therapy, he was hoping for a mission a little more challenging, not this. Sure, with his leg messed up and his knee in a stupid brace, he wouldn't have been able to do much in an actual mission (he stopped counting _this_ as a mission since they got here), but at least he wouldn't have been freezing to death over a stupid device!

Conner wrapped his arms around Dick from behind. "Cold?"

"Yeah." Dick said, "_**Freezing**_. I'm guessing the cold doesn't affect you."

"Not much." Conner said, "I'm only half Kryptonian, remember?"

"I know. But I thought you'd still be completely resistant to cold temperatures. I mean, you didn't inherit everything from Luthor. For example, you're not bald."

Conner kissed his boyfriend's cheek (well, the part that wasn't covered by the cowl). "We should be done in about ten minutes. Maybe when we get back to the mountain, you could introduce me to that new show, _Hannibal_."

"Sorry, Kon, but I promised Jason I'd fix the R-cycle." Dick said, "I'm not sure what he did to it this time, but I should work on it tonight. Tomorrow's my day off, though, so maybe we could watch _Hannibal_ then."

"It's okay, Dick. I understand. Tomorrow it is."

* * *

As soon as the team returned to the mountain and gave the device to Red Tornado to pass on to the League, Dick and Jason left for the manor. The two took the Zeta tube to the batcave, where Dick and Jason changed out of their uniforms and into something a bit more comfortable. Dick took a look at the R-cycle and fixed a few of the problems with it (Jason denied any association to these problems). Dick also changed the Batmobile's oil and worked on the Batplane's stealth tech (Honestly, what would Bruce do without him?). At about eleven-thirty-three, he trudged up to his room and collapsed into bed.

* * *

The next morning, Dick felt like crap.

Dick glanced at the alarm clock and saw that it was about eight-thirty. The sixteen-year-old got up and ignored the slight pain in his knee as he goes to goes to his private bathroom to take a shower and brush his teeth. After showering and brushing his teeth, he went over to his dresser to get a pair of boxers, shirt, and pants. He eventually settled on a deadmau5 t-shirt and black pants. He brushed his hair really quick, making a note that he should probably cut his hair at some point before Bruce cuts it himself. He put on the knee brace before making his way to the door.

At nine-twelve, Dick was downstairs for breakfast. He ignored the looks of concern he received from Bruce as he ate his cereal. Jason was talking about some guy at school who was, according to Jason, "a total cunt." ("Jason! Language!" "Whatever, Bruce") Dick suppressed a groan as he felt a headache coming along. At nine-twenty-six, Dick excused himself from the table, deciding to leave before his headache got any worse.

Nine-forty-five. Dick took some aspirin for his headache and chose to stay in his room until after Jason and Bruce finished their argument. At ten, he thought it was safe to come out, and decided to go down to the media room to watch an episode of _Big Bang Theory_ and grabbing his copies of all the _Hannibal_ movies before calling Conner at ten-twenty-two. By then, his headache wasn't as bad, so the aspirin must have kicked in. When he hung up, Dick went down to the Zeta tubes in the Batcave.

* * *

**Recognized: Nightwing B01**

Oh, look. Headache's back.

Dick assumed that Conner was in the recreation room, watching static on the television. He was right, as per usual. Conner was watching the static with Wolf as though it was the most interesting thing in the world, while M'gann and Tula talked about Earth/surface cultures and Donna and Barbara talked about the worst villain they each had tangled with.

"Hey, Conner." Dick called out.

Conner glanced over at him and grinned. "Hi, Dick."

Conner jumped off the couch and embraced his boyfriend. The two shared a kiss, to which M'gann squealed in delight. Donna and Tula giggled at the Martian's reaction, and Barbara wolf-whistled. When they broke apart, Conner noticed that Dick felt a little warmer than usual.

"We'll just leave you two alone." Barbara giggled.

"Try not to do anything too daring…" Donna said, "Technically, this is a family place."

"_Donna!_" Dick yelled, face officially redder than Barbara's hair. Conner couldn't help but chuckle at his boyfriend's reaction.

"You're so cute when you're embarrassed." The clone received a glare in response.

Dick's anger was soon forgotten when he put the DVDs on the table. "I brought all the _Hannibal_ movies with me. We can get started on the TV series later, but _The Red Dragon_ is pretty much the same as the series. I-"

"Are you feeling okay?" Conner asked.

"What?"

"Are you feeling okay? You felt a little warm when we kissed."

Dick smiled, "Conner, it's sweet of you to worry, but I'm fine. Just a slight cold, that's all."

Conner raised an eyebrow, "Oh, really? Dick, please be honest. I don't know if you remember the last time you were sick, but I do. You ended up staying in bed for two weeks because you chose not to tell anyone. We can do this the easy way, or we can do this the hard way."

Dick rolled his eyes, "I'm _fine_ Conner. Really."

"Okay. Hard way it is." Conner said as he lifted Dick up in his arms bridal style.

"Hey! **Hey!** Put me down, goddamn it!" Dick tried to squirm out of his boyfriend's grasp, but found it was futile. _Gah, fucking super strength_.

"Is everything okay?" M'gann asked, "I heard yelling."

"Everything's fine. Dick's just being stubborn…" Conner said, "He's not going to admit that he's sick."

"Oh, you poor thing! Take him to his room, and I'll be there in a few minutes." M'gann flew off in search of medicine and a thermometer, much like a frantic mother. Conner just couldn't help but chuckle at his ex's reaction.

As soon as they were in Dick's room, Conner set his boyfriend down gently on his bed and proceeded to go through his drawers for something slightly more comfortable. He grabbed a soft 'Gotham Knights' hoodie and black sweatpants for the sick bird to change into.

"Here, change into these, okay? I'll be back in a few minutes." Conner kissed Dick's forehead.

Conner left Dick's room, shutting the door behind him. He went to the living room to get the _Hannibal_ DVDs, just in case Dick still wanted to see them. By the time he returned, M'gann was taking Dick's temperature. There was a small stack of extra blankets next to the bed, some Tylenol, Vicks, and cough syrup on the nightstand, along with a box of tissues and a glass of orange juice. Wolf laid next to the sick teenager, offering comfort to him.

"103.2," M'gann said, "Yeah, you have a fever."

Dick groaned. He knew he was sick, but didn't think it was that bad.

After taking the Tylenol and cough syrup and Conner rubbed Vicks on his chest, Dick could barely keep his eyes open. Conner had put _Hannibal Rising_ in the DVD player and they were currently watching it on the flat screen. Conner glanced over at Dick and saw the teen was drifting off. His head rested on Wolf's body, his jet-black hair contrasting with Wolf's stark-white fur. Conner turned the volume down and kissed his boyfriend's temple. It wasn't much longer when soft snores melded with the sounds of the movie playing.

* * *

**A/N: Oh, Donna XD I'm sure Bats wouldn't like it if his little bird lost his virginity at sixteen, _especially _ on the couch at Mount Justice. **

**Also, the current projects I'm working on will be on hold as of May 30. That day, I begin marching band (OH MY GOD OUR SHOW FOR THIS YEAR SOUNDS SO AWESOME!), so I'll be more focused on music and drill rather than plots and shipping.**


	4. Drabbles II

**A/N: Two chapters in one day? AWESOME!**

* * *

**Beautiful**

Long before Conner and Dick started dating, Conner always thought Dick was beautiful.

Dick's ebony locks were soft and silky, and they contrasted greatly with his porcelain skin. His eyes were bluer than the deepest ocean (though he didn't know that until recently, as his eyes were always covered by either sunglasses or a mask) and sparkled like diamonds when he was happy. His moves were always so graceful, even when he was fighting for his life in the middle of a mission.

Conner couldn't help but think he was so goddamn lucky to have Dick here with him.

* * *

**Breaking Benjamin**

Conner could always tell when Robin was angry or sad or happy depending on the kind of music he listened to when he trained. Robin always did hate working in silence, so he'd have something playing in the background when training. Conner had learned quickly that the kind of music he'd listen to would usually have something to do with his mood.

Like today. He could tell Robin had a fight with Batman, since Breaking Benjamin was playing on the stereo. The Boy Wonder and the Dark Knight have been fighting more and more frequently, which was starting to form a rift between the two.

_Something's getting in the way.  
Something's just about to break.  
I will try to find my place in the diary of Jane.  
So tell me how it should be._

Robin was currently beating the crap out of the punching bag than Conner would usually use to vent. That was how Conner could tell the boy was upset. He usually just worked on aerial routines until Wally or Artemis or someone forced him to stop (or until he eventually passed out, whichever came first).

The punching bag eventually broke off the chain. Robin was still obviously harboring some rage, as he promptly marched away from the fallen punching bag and over to the wall, when he punched a decent-sized crater for a kid of fourteen at a height of five feet.

Conner came into the training room in time to see this, and he had to admit, it was _pretty freakin' scary_. Robin removed his fist from the wall. Conner could see his hand was shaking and bleeding.

"Robin, are you okay?" Conner asked.

Robin just shook his head and left the room. Superboy was left alone, with a look of concern for the kid he had strange feelings for.

* * *

**Blood**

_No. Nonono. This can't be happening. It __**can't**__ happen_.

A bullet took Superboy down. A bullet laced with _Kryptonite_ took Superboy down.

The bullet hadn't gone through and was now lodged in Superboy's chest. Nightwing had already called in the League, but it would take an hour for a Kryptonite scalpel to be made in order to remove the bullet. Nightwing was forced to use a small amount of blue Kryptonite to keep his boyfriend alive, but it couldn't completely cancel out the effects of the green Kryptonite in the bullet. When Batman and Superman had arrived with Doctor Mid-Nite, Batman took Nightwing away from the area to make sure he was okay, since his costume was covered in blood.

"It's not my blood."

* * *

**Bowties Are Cool**

Dick and Conner were at one of Bruce's galas. Dick was obviously very bored, considering the fact that he did nothing but mess with his bowtie.

"I see why you hate going to these things so much, Dick." Conner sighed, he was extremely bored himself.

"Well, there's a bright side to this." Dick said with a smile.

"And what's that?"

"You look very handsome in that suit."

Conner smiled before bringing Dick in for a kiss. "Well, as the Eleventh Doctor says, 'Bowties are cool.'"

* * *

**Bruce**

"We have to tell him at some point, Dick."

"I know, Conner, but… I'm so scared."

Conner sighed and wrapped his arms around his boyfriend. "Dick, he's not going to care about your sexual preference. He loves you for you, just like I do."

Dick rested his head on Conner's chest. "I hope so. I mean, Conner, I'm scared about what he'll say. What if he-"

"Dick, if Clark was happy about us getting together, I'm sure Bruce will. I was scared to death when I chose to tell him, but smiled and said that all that mattered was that I was happy."

Dick smiled, "Alright, then. Wish me luck."

* * *

**Barbara**

"So, you two are going out now?"

"Yes."

"And you want advice for your first official date with Dick?"

"Yes."

"Well, there's some kind of jazz concert at Happy Harbor High, right?"

"Yes."

"Jeez, stop with the one-worded answers. You're starting to sound a lot like Jim Carrey. Now, Dick likes jazz music, so take him to see it. Maybe go out for dinner, too. It's kinda cliché, but he'll like it. And wear something other than that Superman shirt!"

"Okay. Thanks, Barbara."

"Anytime. Oh, and Conner?"

"Yes?"

"If you hurt my best friend, I will guarantee that you will be unable to masturbate without pain. Understood?"

"Y-yes ma'am."

Conner Kent had never been scared of one particular woman in his life.

* * *

**Breathe**

_Breathe in_.

_**Crack!**_

_Breathe out._

_**Smack!**_

_Do not let them see you suffer._

_**Whack!**_

_Repeat, Grayson. Do. __**Not**__. Let. Them. See. You. Suffer._

The Joker was beating Nightwing mercilessly, just as he had done with the second Robin. He was trying to get the former Robin to cry out, but he hadn't been successful.

It was as though Nightwing _wanted_ to die.

And maybe he did. But Superboy wasn't about to let his boyfriend die like this.

The Joker had been prepared for the rest of the team, especially Superboy. But what he didn't prepare himself for was the fact that the clone had a contingency plan.

Superboy had to work fast. In a small lead-lined box, the clone had blue Kryptonite, which should reverse the effects of the green Kryptonite, if Nightwing was correct. The Boy of Steel was in pain, and he found it harder than he thought to open a box no bigger than one that held a wedding ring.

_Got it!_

Conner could feel the effects of the Green Kryptonite being diminished, and he took advantage of the situation. He picked up the green Kryptonite (he ignored the burning sensation) and threw it as far away as possible. From there, it took only one punch to take out the Joker.

The clone ran to Nightwing, who wasn't moving. He resisted the urge to panic.

Nightwing was breathing, but he was a hard time doing so. Conner lifted Nightwing up slightly and let his head rest on his chest.

"It's okay, 'Wing… you're okay. Just… just breathe."

* * *

**Blue**

Sometimes, to pass the time, the team would try to guess Robin's eye colour.

Typically, the team did this when Robin wasn't around, since, well, that was typically the time they got bored. Even so, there was this unspoken rule that the team shouldn't bring up the topic of Robin's eye colour, since the teen already felt that he was giving off this 'I-don't-trust-you' vibe when he really wasn't. The team understood that Robin would tell them everything if Batman would only let him.

One particular day, the team was playing this game on a fairly boring evening.

"I say his eyes are green, like Harry Potter." Artemis said.

"I think they're brown." M'gann said.

"Perhaps they are a hazel colour." Kaldur said.

"Hazel? Really?" Wally asked, "I doubt it. I say they're grey."

"Conner, what colour do you think Robin's eyes are?" M'gann asked.

Conner had given it a lot of thought since he first met the boy. He wondered what colour Robin's eyes were time and time again.

"Blue." Conner simply said.

…

Conner turned out to be right. Robin- or, rather, Dick Grayson- did in fact have blue eyes.

And they were the most beautiful blue eyes Conner had ever seen.

* * *

**A/N: Some notes on the drabbles...**

**Beautiful: Everyone describes Dick as beautiful, and I am no exception. HE IS JUST... WOW. No further explanation needed.**

**Breaking Benjamin: I love Breaking Benjamin. Technically, they're on hiatus, but we might as well say that they're broken up. I think their last album was back in 2009...**

**Blood: I do plenty of Dick whumpage, so I guess I should do one for Conner. Why not? Things get boring if you just do the same thing.**

**Bowties Are Cool: Another Doctor who refrence. I'm trying to fit one in every drabble section until I do a collection of Doctor Who-themed Aster drabbles.**

**Bruce: This idea will be extended, you have my word. This is pretty much just before the coming out.**

**Barbara: "If you hurt my best friend, I will guarantee that you will be unable to masturbate without pain. Understood?" Oh, I could imagine Barbara doing that. Batboys can be scary, but everyone knows Batgirls are scarier.**

**Breathe: Back to Dick whumpage.**

**Blue: Why not?**


	5. Coming Out

**A/N: This is a continuation of one of the drabbles in the previous chapter.**

* * *

**Coming Out**

"Are you ready to get started, Kon-El?"

"Uh, yeah. But I have something I need to tell you. It's… er… it's kinda important."

Conner had waited until Clark had taken him out to train to bring up this particular topic. The clone had been thinking about this for a long time and finally decided that it was now or never. However, he was totally freaked out over what Clark would say. It had taken about six months for the Man of Steel to even acknowledge his presence! It had taken seven for the guy to even get comfortable with being in the same room with him, eight to finally accept him as family. He did not want to throw it all away just because of this one little thing.

Conner had also heard stories about parents kicking their children out of the hours, siblings denying any relation to people like him, and other forms of discrimination just over this little topic. It was scary to think that a member of one's family could do something like that to their own flesh and blood just because they were different. Conner didn't want that, and he was sure Dick didn't want it either.

"Conner?" Clark's voice broke Conner out of his thoughts.

"Oh, right… sorry."

_Here goes nothing_.

"Clark, like I said, this is kinda important. I mean, I've heard stories about parents trying to use therapy to get rid of this part of their children as though it was a disease, or just abandoning them all together. I really don't know what you'll think about it, but I guess I should just tell you."

Clark had a feeling that he knew what Conner was about to say, but chose not to say a word. Conner should just tell him in his own words.

"I… I'm… I'm gay."

Yup. Exactly what he was expecting.

"Conner," Clark said, "Did you really think I'd do that kind of thing to you just because of your sexual preference?"

Conner sighed, "Well…" It was elongated, as though he was trying to choose his words very carefully.

"I see your point," Clark said, "I haven't really been a very good mentor- or father, for that matter- for the past few months, so I do see why you'd think that way."

"It's not like that! I just- okay, maybe it's a little like that, but-"

"Kon-El."

"Okay, _yes_, it was totally and completely the reason why I chose to hold off on it. But…I mean… I just…"

Clark couldn't hold back the chuckle that escaped his mouth. He had never once seen Conner this freaked out, and it was pretty comical.

Clark sobered up, "But, seriously, Conner, I'd never do that kind of thing to you. I admit, I've even had my suspicions for a while."

"Really?"

"Oh, yes. I've seen the way you look at Dick."

"H-how did you-"

Clark chose not to comment. Well, he couldn't really do so if he wanted to, because he started to laugh at his clone's reaction.

"Oh, come on! It's not that funny!"

"No, no, it isn't… I'm sorry. But, really, it's not that hard to figure out. You could actually take a lesson from Dick on keeping secrets. I almost didn't figure it out."

"I'll assume that this will be a story for another day?"

Clark chuckled, "Oh, you bet. But, Conner, this is your life, and I don't care who you spend it with. What matters is that you're happy. Now, we should get to it or we'll be late for dinner. You know how much Lois hates us being late."

Conner nodded. If it was one thing he hated more than coming out, it was being on Lois Lane-Kent's bad side.

* * *

Dick paced back and forth in front of the door to the study. Conner had texted him earlier, saying that everything went fine with telling Clark about them. However, Bruce was a different story. He had no idea how the man felt about homosexuality. He wasn't able to read his guardian like a book like he could with Clark or Diana or Wally.

_Dammit, Grayson, grow a pair and tell him already!_

"But what if he's disgusted?"

_He wouldn't do that to you. I mean, Kate and Renee are in a relationship and he doesn't seem to mind._

"But that's _**different**_."

_Not by much, Grayson._

Ah, great, now he was talking to himself. He should probably get a psychiatric evaluation from Dinah at some point, because this is starting to freak him out.

"Okay, okay, okay, here goes nothing." Dick knocked on the door to Bruce's study.

"Enter."

Dick opened the door, hoping Bruce didn't hear the part where he started talking to himself.

"I heard you talking to yourself out there, Dick. We should probably get a psychiatric evaluation from Dinah." Bruce remarked, not looking up from his books.

"Yeah… probably. But that's not why I'm here."

"I assumed so. You don't seem to mind insanity, so I don't see why you'd bring it up." Bruce looked up from his books, "Now, what was it that you wanted to talk about?"

Dick scratched the back of his head, "I… um… this is kinda complicated, actually."

"Is this about you and Conner?"

"Huh? How did-"

"They don't hand out the title 'world's greatest detective' to everyone, Dick." Bruce said.

"Oh… right."

An uncomfortable silence enveloped the two for the longest time.

"Dick," Bruce said, "I want you to know that I am okay with the relationship you and Conner have. As long as it doesn't go too far too fast, I don't see why you two can't be together."

Dick grinned. The last thing he expected Bruce to say was that he was fine with the relationship the teen had with Conner.

"Dick, I only care about your happiness." Bruce stood up from the chair and walked around the desk to where Dick stood. He put a hand on his shoulder and said, "So, if Conner makes you happy, then I'm perfectly fine with the relationship you have with him."

Dick's grin got bigger, if that was even possible. The next thing Bruce knew, Dick was hugging him. He had to admit, it caught him off guard, but he was quick to recover.

After a good few minutes, Bruce finally said, "Honestly, Dick, I had my suspicions about your sexual preference for a while."

"When'd you figure it out?" Dick asked.

"When you and Zatanna were dating, I noticed that you didn't seem as interested in her as you were when you first met. And even with that mask or those sunglasses on your face, I can still tell that you're staring at Conner."

Dick blushed. "I… I should probably work on that, shouldn't I?"

"Yes, you should." Bruce ruffled Dick's hair. "Now, if Conner hurts you in any way or tries to get you to do something you don't want to do-"

"He won't… I know he won't."

"Nonetheless, I want you to know that if he does try to hurt you or get you to do something you don't want to do, use the Kryptonite I gave you for emergencies."

Dick sighed, "Okay, fine."

After Bruce gave him a talk that sounded suspiciously similar to the "Don't you dare get Zatanna pregnant" talk, Dick had all but run out of the study. On the way to his room, Dick texted Conner before he shut himself in his room to tell Artemis about it over Skype.

* * *

**A/N: Oh, Bruce...**


	6. Drabbles III

**A/N: More drabbles :D**

* * *

**Cold**

Nightwing was _**freezing**_. Even though it was about a hundred degrees outside, in the warehouse the team had snuck into (which, by the way, belonged to Mr. Freeze) had to be well below zero.

Superboy seemed to notice that Nightwing was cold. He wrapped his arms around the slighter teen, offering what warmth he could.

* * *

_**Captain America: The First Avenger**_

"I thought we were going to watch _Iron Man_." Conner said.

"Wally lost his copy." Robin said, rolling his eyes, "So, we're gonna watch _Captain America_. And it's awesome, you'd like it."

"Whatever!" Wally yelled, "Let's just watch the freakin' movie!"

…

About halfway through the movie, the team, save for Conner and Robin, had fallen asleep. The two remaining team members watched as Captain America tried to reach out to Bucky, who was about to fall from the train. Conner could see Robin stiffen at the sight of this and he gently wrapped an arm around his shoulder. Robin relaxed only slightly at the touch.

When Captain America failed to save Bucky from falling, Conner found himself holding a shaking Robin. He chose not to ask about it.

…

After the movie, Robin couldn't help but say, "Why didn't Steve and Bucky kiss while they had the chance?"

* * *

**Cubicles**

The first time Conner ever heard Dick sing was shortly after the team was formed. Conner was still getting used to being on the team (yes, even after two months), and still getting used to the layout of the mountain.

Dick (at the time, Robin) was only in the room across from his own. With his super hearing, Conner could hear everything that went on within the rooms around his. Typically, though, they were quite annoying. M'gann watched some stupid sitcom and Wally always had his videogames up way too loud, even more so to the clone.

The noises that came from Robin's room, though, were never like that. Since Robin rarely stayed at the mountain unless he was injured or too tired to leave, it was always fairly quiet.

One night in particular, it was actually quiet in both M'gann and Wally's rooms. The quiet was nice, and Conner had hoped it would last for a very long time.

"_It's the tearing sound of love-notes, drowning out these gray stained windows and the view outside is sterile, and I'm only two cubes down…_"

Well, the quiet didn't last… but this time, he didn't mind. The sound was beautiful. Conner knew it was coming from Robin's room. It was a tune he recognized, but didn't exactly remember the name of.

What the boy of steel didn't know, though, was that Robin was singing it because of him.

* * *

**Catwoman**

"I hate Gotham."

"I know, Kon."

"I hate being wet."

"I know, Kon."

"I hate that it's always raining in Gotham."

"You're starting to get on my nerves, Kon."

"Trouble in paradise, lovebirds?"

Nightwing turned around, a slight smirk on his face. Catwoman smiled back at the not-so-little bird. She would never admit it to Batman, but she did have a soft spot for his little (ex-) Robin.

"So this is the one you were talking about?" Catwoman asked as she pulled the teen into a hug, "I have to say, you've got good taste, kitten."

Nightwing's blush was visible, even in the dark. "Y-yeah… that's him."

Catwoman walked towards Superboy, looking him over from head to toe. Conner had seriously never felt more nervous in his life, especially with Catwoman's gaze fixed on him.

Catwoman got close and whispered into his ear, "If you hurt him, I'll claw your eyes out. Understood?"

Conner nodded.

He wasn't sure if he should be more scared of Catwoman or Batgirl at this point.

* * *

**Cyanide and Happiness**

"'_Umbilical Chords'… _I don't know if I should laugh or be offended."

Dick smirked, "Be offended. Be _**very**_ offended. But laugh, too. It's funny."

* * *

**College Humor**

"Sweet! They have a new Batman animation!"

"Huh? Who?"

"Not 'who,' Kon… do you know what College Humor is?"

Conner looked at his boyfriend, a confused look on his face. "No."

"We'll just have to fix that, then!" Dick clicked on the video that said _Batman vs. Cat Lady_ and the two started watching the first of many videos that made fun of Batman.

* * *

**Cats**

"Batman's gonna kill me…"

In Conner's arms was a tiny bundle of black fur with galaxy blue eyes. He and Nightwing were sent on a mission to find out what Klarion's latest scheme was. They were discovered, and the fight eventually ended with Klarion turning the acrobat into a cat.

Oh, yes, Batman was going to have his head.

"Meow?"

Conner's eyes met with Nightwing's. Conner chuckled and scratched lightly behind the cat's ears, earning a purr in response.

Now, he just hoped to god this was only temporary.

* * *

**A/N: Yup... a few notes...**

**Cold: Because why not?**

_**Captain America: The First Avenger**_**: Every time there was a Steve and Bucky scene, I jumped off the couch and screamed "JUST KISS ALREADY!"**

**Cubicles: "Cubicles" is the name of a My Chemical Romance song from their first album _I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love_. Since MCR broke up earlier this year (STILL can't believe it), I thought I'd do something for one of my favorite songs.**

**Catwoman: I imagine Catwoman as a motherly figure towards Dick (much like half the League's females...) and thought she'd be scarier than Babs...**

**Cyanide and Happiness: I DO NOT HAVE TO EXPLAIN IT. IF YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT CYANIDE AND HAPPINESS IS, GOOGLE IT RIGHT NOW.**

**College Humor: It's the funniest thing ever.**

**Cats: Because Kitty!Dick is even more adorable than Sick!Dick.**


	7. Sleep

**A/N: I was listening to "Sleep" by My Chemical Romance as I wrote this... now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go cry in a corner, as I'm still in denial over My Chemical Romance breaking up. **

* * *

**Sleep**

* * *

Since his parents died, Dick Grayson never really enjoyed sleep. For him, it was the nightmares that haunted him as he slept. Since he was nine, the image of his parents, aunt, uncle, and cousin falling down and landing with the sickening sound of bones cracking and blood and brains splattering across the ground haunted him more than his lifestyle as Robin and Nightwing.

These nightmares not only made him not want to sleep, but made it hard for him to fall asleep, even if he wanted to. It was the thought of seeing his family, both past and present, die a horrible death that seemed to keep him awake. His mind, like his body, was always active, which made it hard for him to even feel tired.

For Conner Kent, the thought of sleep just wasn't that pleasant. It was the silence that got to him. Since he was asleep for sixteen weeks at Cadmus, and the G-gnomes had been programming him while he slept, Conner had gotten used to constant noise while he slept. After all that went away, sleeping just felt… strange. Really, he only took short naps throughout the day, and that was enough.

At night, though, when he should've been sleeping, he'd just lie there, awake. The silence just seemed to smother him. It got a little bit better when he adopted (or stole/rescued, any would work) Sphere and Wolf, but not enough to help him sleep. He didn't understand how anyone could fall asleep in silence.

Nobody on the team knew about either teen's sleeping habits, nor did they ask about it. Really, nobody truly noticed. With sunglasses or a mask on Dick's face at all times and Conner's stoic expression, nobody could tell, and both teens were happy to keep it that way.

* * *

After a fairly exhausting mission in Beijing, the team, sans Rocket, Zatanna, Kaldur, and the newest Robin, trudged into the Bioship, glad to finally be finished with the mission. There was complete silence in the Bioship once everyone was seated. M'gann had put the ship in autopilot in order to sleep. Wally almost didn't make it to his seat when he fell asleep and Artemis was curled up in her seat. Dick and Conner were the only ones awake.

Dick had taken his mask off as soon as he sat down, revealing tired blue eyes. The fifteen-year-old had his hands full lately with helping Batman train Jason Todd, patrolling Bludhaven, and school. However, he hadn't fallen asleep yet, which worried Conner.

"Are you feeling okay, Dick?" Conner asked.

"Yeah. I'm good." Dick mumbled.

"You look tired. You should rest."

"I'm not as tired as I look, believe me." Dick smiled slightly, "I had about eight cups of coffee before the mission-"

"Which was about two days ago."

"-and I took an adrenaline shot-"

"Six hours ago."

"-and I've been listening to Slipknot and Skrillix while I was fighting Lady Vic."

"And that explains why you were singing _Kill Everybody_."

Dick chuckled, "Yeah."

Conner smiled. He liked Dick pretty well, ever since he first met him when he was simply known as Robin. Sure, there were times when he really wanted to smack that smirk off his face, but the kid was a very likable person. Of course, liking the kid also made him a bit overprotective of him. Wally once called him a "Mother Hen" when he jumped in front of a flurry of bullets heading towards Dick when they were on a mission in Russia.

"Seriously, Dick," Conner said, "I think you should get some sleep. I'm pretty sure Batman won't wait until morning for debriefing for this mission." This mission had been one of those kinds of missions where Batman would only send the team had it been the only option left.

"I'm fine, dude, really. I've stayed up later than this. Anyway, I kinda hate sleeping with matters like these not being completely finished with."

"I know the feeling." Conner said.

* * *

As soon as debriefing was finished, the team went to their rooms to get some sleep. Nobody was really in the mood to go home when they felt like crap.

Conner had not fallen asleep right away, since he still couldn't take the silence. It was starting to get to him, especially since he was kind of tired.

That's when Conner remembered that he had super hearing.

With his hearing, he heard Wally's loud, obnoxious snoring, Artemis' mumbling, and that cheesy sitcom playing in the background in M'gann's room. All of the above were annoying.

Conner decided to block them out and listen to Dick. He remembered Dick had a beautiful singing voice, and maybe, just maybe, he'd be singing.

Well, he wasn't… but he could hear Dick's heartbeat and light breathing. It was a soothing sound, one that was welcoming to Conner.

It wasn't long until the clone fell asleep.

* * *

_The sound of the bright and happy circus music carried through the air as a nine-year-old Dick Grayson watched the tiger tamers from above. The child giggled at the sight of the middle-aged animal tamer tease the only white tiger in the circus, Snowflake. It was a wonder the man hasn't gotten his throat slit by the tiger._

"_And now, the moment you've all been waiting for…" Jack Haley's voice was filled with pride as he announced the next act, "Ladies and gentlemen, the __**Flying Graysons**__!"_

_Applause thundered through the tent. __**This**__ is what everyone came to see._

_For the first part of the performance, the Graysons performed with the safety of the net. Since Dick joined in on performing a little over a year ago, Mary had insisted that the net was used until their final trick, which Dick was not allowed to do because of his age. (Mary was not about to let her little Robin get himself killed entertaining hundreds of people.) To make up for this, Dick had a small segment of the Flying Grayson's portion of the show reserved for himself and his cousin John, as the youngest acrobats really made the Graysons so popular._

_After completing the Graysons' most famous, well-known trick- the quadruple flip- Dick sat at the sidelines and watched as the rest of his family prepared for their dénouement._

"_And now… the Graysons perform their final trick… without the safety of the net!"_

_The net came down, and the Graysons prepared themselves for their final trick. Once they were all in position, they swung off._

_At that moment, Dick's world was turned upside down._

_With a small __**snap**__ of the wire, the Graysons, minus Dick, had fallen down._

"_**No!**__"_

_Dick had climbed down the ladder as fast as he could. He almost fell off at the sound of his family's bones cracking and blood splattering across the ground._

"_No… no, no, no, nonono!" Dick had tears in his eyes as he ran towards his family._

"_You couldn't save us…" His mother whispered._

"_You're a terrible son…" His father hissed._

"_You stupid little brat…" Called his aunt._

"_Go to hell… go to hell, you little fuck…" John was growling._

"_Because of you, I can't fly anymore. I can't move!" His uncle yelled, "I lost my wife and son, my brother and my sister-in-law because of you!"_

"_No… no…"_

* * *

Conner woke to the sound of pained whimpers.

"No… no…"

It was coming from Dick's room. Conner had shot up and went across to Dick's room, resisting the urge to knock it down.

Conner saw Dick thrashing in this bed, not quite yelling, but not quite whimpering, either.

Conner ran to Dick's side. He gently grabbed his shoulders and shook him lightly. "Dick, wake up! It's not real! Whatever you're seeing, it's not real!"

Dick woke with a loud gasp. He was trembling, tears were in his eyes, and to Conner, he seemed so much younger than he actually was. He didn't mind in the least when Dick buried his face into the clone's chest.

"It's okay… you'll be okay." Conner rubbed soothing circles into the smaller teen's back, offering what comfort he could. "It was… it was only a dream." Conner kissed Dick's forehead. Had Dick not been crying his eyes out, he would've been surprised.

After Dick had calmed down, Conner got up off the bed to leave. Dick's hand shot out and grabbed Conner's. Conner looked at him, surprised.

"D-don't go… please…"

Conner's features softened slightly. "Okay. Move over a little."

Dick did as he was told and Conner got under the covers with him. He pulled the still-trembling teen to his chest and kissed his forehead once again.

"Conner?"

"Hmm?"

Dick kissed him full on the lips. It surprised Conner, but it sure wasn't unwanted.

"You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that." Dick murmured. He curled up against Conner's chest with a content sigh.

That night, the two slept better than they had in the past.

* * *

**A/N: I really hate the ending...**


	8. Drabbles IV

**A/N: Yay, more drabbles :D**

* * *

**Darkness and Light**

The Bat Family and the Superman Family came from two different areas. Darkness was the Bat Family's ally, while the Superman Family couldn't live without the light. The Bats were all about mental strength, and the Supers relied on physical strength. The Supers fought for truth, justice, and the American way, while the Bats fought to clean their hellhole of a city. The Bats analyzed anything and everything with potential evidence, while the Supers saw the world in black and white.

This wasn't true for everyone in the Bat or Superman Family.

Dick Grayson, in a way, was the only source of light that came from the Bat family, even if his past was as dark as the rest of his adoptive family. He fought for justice, and to protect his new family. Conner Kent came from a dark place, so, in a way, he was the darkness of the Superman family. But, he, too, fought for justice, past and creation be damned. He also fought to protect the one he loved, even if he knew he could take care of himself.

There's a rumor that nobody in the Bat Family could love anyone in the superman Family. That's a lie as well. After all, Conner and Dick love each other, and they come from different worlds.

* * *

**Dogs**

It was a quiet evening at Mount Justice. There hadn't been any missions lately, so the teenagers that resided there were quite bored. M'gann was in the kitchen, trying out a new pie recipe. Kaldur was in Atlantis right now, speared from the boredom. Wally was on a trip with his family, so there was no annoying chatter filling the room. Artemis was at home, most likely sharpening her arrows.

Long story short, everyone, except for Conner, who was staring at static, had something to do.

Conner wished that Dick were there. The teen was currently away on a solo mission in Russia. He'd been away for about a week, and Conner was really missing his boyfriend.

**Recognized: Nightwing B01**

Conner jumped off the couch at the mention of his boyfriend's codename. The second he caught sight of the black and blue-clad hero, he pulled him into a kiss.

"_Raff!_"

Conner broke the kiss when he heard the little bark. He looked down in Dick's arms and saw a little puppy, no more than six months old.

"Wouldn't stop bugging me," Dick mumbled sleepily, "Gave me the friggin' puppy dog eyes."

The puppy, a German Shepard, to be exact, gave another excited bark.

"What's his name?" Conner asked.

"Dunno yet… but we're not naming him 'Puppy' or 'Dog,' okay?"

"But those names are easy to remember."

"Okay, but so is 'Clone.' Would you rather I call you that instead Conner Kent?"

"Well, no…"

"Okay, then." Dick said, a slight smile on his face. He looked down at the pup, "How about Ace? You like that, boy"

"Raff! _Raff!_"

"Ace the Bathound it is, then." Dick sat Ace down on the ground. The pup began to run around in circles, chasing its tail and yipping happily.

Dick yawned, "It's good to see you, Conner… I was getting lonely in Russia."

"It was boring here without you, Dick." Conner pulled his boyfriend into a kiss, "C'mon, let's get you to bed… you're probably exhausted."

Dick didn't say a word. He had fallen asleep in Conner's arms. Conner looked over at Ace, since the puppy had been quiet for a few minutes. The puppy, too, had fallen asleep.

* * *

**Dinner with Bruce**

"Conner, it's important that you make a good first impression." Dick said, straightening his boyfriend's tie. "He knows about my… er… 'night life' and that you're Superboy, so he knows you'll protect me. He just… y'know…"

"Wants to make sure I'm not taking advantage of you." Conner said.

"Er… more or less. But I know that you'd never do that to me," Dick said, "And if you did, I'd shove a piece of Kryptonite so far up your ass, you wouldn't want to get it on with another guy ever again."

Conner swallowed hard. God, if Bruce Wayne was as intimidating as his adoptive son or the Batman, he'd just die.

* * *

**Dreams**

Conner liked to watch Dick sleep. The teen always looked so peaceful in his sleep.

Conner had started sleeping with Dick to help keep the nightmares away. The bird always did appreciate it, especially when he was woken up by an alarm clock rather than the sound of his parents' bones cracking on the pavement.

One night, Conner had come back to the Mountain after a mission with Kaldur and Zatanna. The first thing the clone did was check in on Dick.

Dick was curled up beneath the blankets, sleeping soundly. Conner smiled at the sight. It was good to see that Dick wasn't having a nightmare. He had been worried about it since he left earlier in the day.

After getting cleaned up and changing, Conner slid beneath the covers and pulled Dick close. He took in the sight. Soft black locks contrasted with the pale white skin. Blue eyes were closed, peaceful. His chest rose and fell lightly. Conner could hear Dick's heart beating in his chest.

Dick mumbled something while he dreamed. Conner smiled at the teen and gently kissed his forehead without waking him.

"I love you, too, Dick."

* * *

**Death**

Superboy held Nightwing close, offering what warmth he could. Nightwing was trembling, blood staining the cobalt bird on his chest and turning it crimson.

Superboy knew very well that Nightwing was dying… but Conner refused to believe that the love of his life was dying in his arms.

"I… I should've been there, Dick." Conner whispered, "I'm so sorry."

"C… Conner…" Dick could barely speak, as he was choking on his own blood.

"Please… please don't leave me. _**Please**_."

"C-can't control that, K-Kon… sorry…" Dick took hold of Conner's hand with both of his own, "I just want y-you to know… I love you…"

"I know, Dick…. I love you too… just hold on, please. Everything will be okay, and maybe we could… maybe we could…"

"D-dammit, Conner… just… k-kiss me before I… before I…"

Dick was cut off by Conner's lips meeting his. The kiss was gentle and sweet, and Conner could taste Dick's blood…

It only made this worse for him.

Before Dick's heart stopped, he whispered, "I wish… I wish we c-could... could've b… been together… forever."

* * *

**Daft Punk**

"And this is..?"

"Daft Punk. They're fucking awesome, trust me."

Dick had been trying to introduce Conner to music, starting with nursery rhymes and moving up the list. After Dick introduced Conner to Lady Gaga, he moved on the Daft Punk.

"What kind of name is Daft Punk?"

"Who cares about the name? What matters is the music. Now, shut up and listen to this. It's _C.L.U._ from _TRON._"

…

After a few hours, Conner was still listening to _C.L.U._ on repeat, thinking that this song was as good as Lady Gaga's _Bad Romance_.

* * *

**A/N: Yup.**

**Darkness and Light- The Bat Family and the Superman Family are two opposing forces, in a way... but, opposites attract.**

**Dogs- Because I like Ace.**

**Dinner With Bruce- Yes, this one will be continued. for the record, Conner knows Dick is Nightwing, but doesn't know Bruce is Batman.**

**Dreams- "I like watching you sleep." Why not?**

**Death- I needed something sad.**

**Daft Punk- If you don't know or like Daft Punk, we can't be friends. _C.L.U._ is my favorite song from TRON.**


	9. If You Can't Live Without Me

**A/N: I'm kinda evil.**

* * *

**If You Can't Live Without Me, Why Aren't You Dead Yet?**

* * *

_**Baby, I sorely miss the vibrant gleam that's in your eyes  
I'll write a song about it  
And maybe if the melody's just right  
I hope tonight it will find you  
It will remind you**_

* * *

"I'm sorry… but I think we should end this."

The minute those words left Conner's mouth, he instantly regretted it.

"Conner…"

"I… I mean… it's…"

The look in Dick's deep blue eyes broke his heart into a million pieces. But Conner had given it a lot of thought, and the last thing he was going to do was change his mind at the last second. But, it wasn't fair to Dick if he continued to date him when he loved someone else.

"I just want you to know that it's not you, Dick… it's me," Conner said, "I know **everyone** says that, but it's true. It's not fair to you if I continue to date you when I love someone else."

Dick sniffled, which made Conner feel all the more guilty.

"I… I understand, Conner." Dick had a hard time keeping his voice as steady as he did.

Dick was taking it much better than Conner expected, but he knew Dick well enough to understand that he was most likely breaking down on the inside. It hurt him to think like that, but it was the truth.

No matter how many times he said he was sorry, he knew it wouldn't fix the broken heart that he left his ex with.

"I hope we can still be friends, Dick," Conner said.

Dick nodded, but didn't say a word.

* * *

_**But what's holding me back is the thought of time we never had  
My world's hanging by three words that I can't bear to say**_

* * *

When Conner said he wanted to talk to him, Dick thought something bad was going to happen. He simply dismissed the thought, though, choosing to remain optimistic and hope that he wasn't right.

But when Conner said he wanted to end it, it broke Dick's heart.

"It's not fair to you if I continue to date you when I love someone else," Conner had told him. He totally understood that, since he went through the same thing when he dated Zatanna. But it still hurt him to think that way. Now he knew how Zatanna felt.

Dick was looking through all the photographs he had of him and Conner when they were together while he listened to My Chemical Romance music. He didn't have the heart to delete the ones on his laptop or cut Conner out of every picture he had since he still loved him and Conner had been nice enough to let him down as gently as he possibly could.

Dick was pulled out of his thoughts by a knock at his door. With the cheeriest voice he could possibly muster, he said, "It's open."

Zatanna walked in, the Jimmy Fallon CD that Dick had lent her in her hands. "Dick, you were right! Jimmy Fallon is- what's wrong?"

The only person other than Conner who could read him when he was wearing sunglasses or a mask was Zatanna. Zatanna sat down next to Dick on his bed with a look of concern for her ex on her face.

"It's no big deal, Zee. Really," Dick said.

Zatanna took off Dick's sunglasses. "Come on Dick, even Wally can tell something's up when you're wearing your sunglasses when everyone knows your identity. Just talk to me."

"Zatanna, I really-"

"Don't you dare say that you don't want to talk about this, Richard John Grayson," Zatanna said, "You and I both know that keeping things locked up inside can be bad for everyone. Let me help, okay? Tell me what's wrong… I might not be able to do much of anything, but it might help a little if you talk about it."

Dick nodded, "Conner… he broke up with me."

Zatanna pulled Dick into a hug, "Oh, I'm so sorry, Dick. Why?"

"He said he loved someone else, Zee…"

"Did he say who?"

Dick shook his head, "No."

Zatanna gave Dick a look that told him how suspicious she was about this. "This isn't right. I know Conner isn't one to fall out of love that easily."

* * *

_**When you hear this chorus  
Do you miss the way the world was spinning for us?  
Do you hurt the way that I do?  
After all this time you leave me broken  
This song is every word I left unspoken  
When you hear this, girl, I'm hoping that you think of us  
That you think of us**_

* * *

"Hey, M'gann?"

The Martian turned and smiled at Conner, "Hello, Conner! How are you?"

"Honestly, I feel terrible," Conner said, "I… I broke up with Dick."

"Oh… I'm so sorry to hear that."

"I… I broke up with him because I loved someone else."

"May I ask who?"

Conner sighed, "You. I still love you."

"Oh… Conner…"

"I, uh… I want to give us another try."

M'gann smiled, "I would be happy to give us another chance, too, Conner."

* * *

_**Baby, I told myself that I'll be fine but it's a lie  
I don't want to talk about it  
Memories, oh they cut like knives  
Deep inside I'm falling  
Baby, catch me if you can**_

* * *

M'gann felt guilty about what she had been doing for the past few weeks, but she really did want Conner back. As they say, love makes you do crazy things…

For the past couple of weeks, M'gann had been implanting mental suggestions into Conner's mind while he slept. She had been trying to convince him that he was in love with her, but she had to do it little by little, or else he'd catch on.

Originally, it was just to make him feel guilty. She had been replaying memories of the two together to make him feel bad. But, slowly, she started to realize that she could manipulate him. She could get him to fall back in love with her.

M'gann had no intention of hurting Dick. Dick was like a little brother to her. In fact, if he ever got hurt, even if it were just a little scratch, she'd go crazy, her mother hen senses going off. So doing this to him felt terrible.

Again, love makes you do crazy things.

M'gann finally had Conner back… but she knew very well that she hurt Dick.

* * *

_**What's holding me back is the thought of time we never had  
My world's hanging by three words that I can't bear to say**_

* * *

It was girl's night (or, rather, late afternoon), and Zatanna, M'gann, Raquel, and Artemis were at the mall. They were in the food court, bags from Victoria's Secret, F.Y.E., Forever 21, and Hot Topic tucked under the table.

After talking about what girls typically talked about, Zatanna said, "Did you guys hear that Conner and Dick broke up?"

Artemis gave a look of surprise, "What?! They were so cute together!"

"Yeah… apparently Conner was in love with someone else," Zatanna said, "At least he let him down gently rather than cheating on him. I mean, I know guys who would just see how many people they could sleep with at once."

"How do you know about this anyway?" Raquel asked.

"I went to return the copy of _Blow Your Pants Off_ he lent me and he was pretty upset. He told me Conner broke up with him."

M'gann felt a pang of guilt in her heart.

"I think it's kind of weird, though," Zatanna continued, "Conner isn't really the kind of person to fall out of love so easily."

The walls were closing in on M'gann, and she knew it.

* * *

_**When you hear this chorus  
Do you miss the way the world was spinning for us?  
Do you hurt the way that I do?  
After all this time you leave me broken  
This song is every word I left unspoken  
When you hear this, girl, I'm hoping that you think of us**_

* * *

"Um… Conner… I have to tell you something," M'gann said.

"Yeah?" M'gann could sense there was a tone in Conner's voice, but she couldn't really put her finger on it.

"When we first broke up, I was really upset about it. You loved someone else, but I still loved you. And… love makes you do crazy things. And I… I…"

"Manipulated me into making you love me again."

M'gann's eyes widened. How long did Conner know about that?

"Conner, I-"

"How could you do that to me? How could you do that to Dick? Why?!"

Tears welled up in M'gann's eyes, "I wanted you back! I loved you, Conner… I didn't want to let you go!"

"I stopped loving you when you manipulated me the first time! Why can't you understand that?"

"I made a mistake, Conner… I'm sorry."

"No… no you're not. You're only sorry that you got caught," Conner said, "We're done."

* * *

_**When you hear this chorus  
Do you miss the way the world was spinning for us?  
Do you hurt the way that I do?  
After all this time you leave me broken  
This song is every word I left unspoken  
When you hear this, girl, I'm hoping that you think of us  
That you think of us**_

* * *

Dick was in the middle of practicing for his drum corps audition when he heard a knock at the door. Dick set his trumpet down on the bed and opened the door.

"Oh… hi, Conner."

"Hi, Dick," Conner said, "Uh… Can I come in?"

"Sure. But I really need to practice, so-"

"Practice for what?"

Dick motioned towards the music stand, "I'm auditioning for the Blue Devils later on in the week."

"Cool. I, um, wanted to tell you something."

"Yeah."

Conner sighed, "M'gann manipulated me into falling out of love with you… she… she's been implanting mental suggestions while I slept, I guess."

"So, what you're saying is-"

Dick was cut off with Conner's lips crashing into his. The kiss was a bit clumsy, but Dick didn't mind in the least.

When the kiss finally broke, Dick said, "Conner… you mean…"

"I still love you. I was just… blinded for a while."

Dick smiled, "Conner, I love you, too. God, I sound like one of those chick flicks Zatanna makes me watch."

Conner smiled, "I should probably leave so you can practice."

"It's fine, Conner," Dick said, picking up his trumpet, "You can stay if you want. I kinda need someone to tell me how I'm doing, anyway, and who better than a clone with perfect pitch?"

* * *

_**Baby, I sorely miss the vibrant gleam that's in your eyes**_

* * *

**A/N: I imagine Conner has perfect pitch :D**

**In case you aren't in marching band, the Blue Devils are a drum corps that you should look up. They do some things many drum corps won't do. The Decatur Central Marching Band's (the band I'm in) marching style is modeled after the Blue Devil's.**

**Now, I'm off to a drum corps show over at Ball State. sadly, the Blue Devels aren't there... but the Cavaliers and Carolina Crown (which is considered the best drum corps in the world) will be there :D**


	10. Drabbles V

**A/N: Do any of you here have any idea how hard it is to come up with words that start with the letter E?**

* * *

**Endlessly**

Sometimes, Dick thought Conner had endless patience with him. When Dick would get stressed and snap at Conner, the clone wouldn't get angry or anything.

"I'm so sorry, Conner. I didn't-"

"It's okay, Dick," Conner said, "You're under a lot of pressure. I get that. Just know that I'll love you endlessly."

* * *

**Enemy**

"As they say, the enemy of my enemy is my friend," Conner said, motioning towards Lady Vic.

"Well, in this case, the enemy of your enemy also happens to be your boyfriend's enemy," Artemis said, motioning towards Dick.

* * *

**Even If I Could…**

"Dick, please-"

"No, Conner! I… I can't fight with that guy," Dick said, "I won't. He's caused us enough suffering."

"For once, Vandal's trying to save humanity," Conner told him.

"Yeah, but for his own gain."

"Dick, he may be our only hope."

"Maybe… but I'd never die for him, even if I could."

* * *

**Enigma**

Even after five years, Dick was still an enigma to Conner. The strangest thing about it, though, was the fact that, even after dating for two of those years, he was still very mysterious to him.

Although, Conner had to admit, he liked it that way. Being mysterious was part of Dick's charm.

* * *

**Endless Endings**

"Why's life full of beginnings and ends?"

Dick gave his boyfriend a confused look, a facial expression not often seen on the young detective. "What do you mean, Kon?"

"I mean, why do the good things have to end? The simple times when we first joined the team ended, high school ended, and one of these days, we'll most likely end our relationship. Everything ends, and it's weird."

"Well," Dick said, "Some things have to end for new things to begin. The simple days ended, leading to the team we know today. Your relationship with M'gann ended, but now we're together. And if or when our relationship ends, then… well, we move on." Dick kissed his boyfriend's cheek. "Really, though, life is just a big beginning and a grand finale with a gigantic middle in between."

* * *

**Exceptions**

Bruce was always very cautious about Dick dating, whether it was a male or female he was seeing. For a female, he was afraid that Dick would get the girl pregnant. However, for a male, he was afraid Dick would get hurt. He was careful about doing triple background checks and making sure someone was supervising him if he couldn't be there.

Zatanna wasn't really an issue, since she was Dick's actual date. Bruce still had the talk with Dick and made sure they were under surveillance, but he didn't need to do a background check on her. Barbara wasn't an issue, either, but she was always quite mischievous. Bruce liked her well enough, but she was absolutely on his 'Do **Not** Leave These People alone With Dick' list.

When Dick told Bruce that he was dating Conner, he was a bit skeptical. Conner's anger issues could pose a problem… but not once had he tried to hurt Dick (at least, not intentionally).

He supposed he could make an exception or two to the rules he stuck by when Dick dated.


	11. Going Public

**A/N: Yup. About time I wrote another Aster fic.**

* * *

**Going Public**

* * *

It had to happen eventually. Sooner or later, Dick and Conner would have to go on a date outside of watching movies at the manor or Mount Justice.

Dick chose to do this sooner rather than later, and Conner agreed.

"I know this great retro diner in Gotham that you'd love," Dick said, as he practically dragged Conner to the Zeta tubes. Conner just smirked at his boyfriend's babbling, just thinking that it was the most adorable thing in the universe.

The diner wasn't far away from the Zeta tubes, so there wasn't much of a walk to the diner. The two walked hand in hand, not caring who saw them.

"Here it is! Mama Rosie's Diner," Dick said, "Best place to get a burger in Gotham."

The two walked into the diner, which was playing The Hives' _Tick Tick Boom_ on the jukebox. Everything looked retro, with the exception of the patrons and the music playing on the jukebox.

The teens sat at a booth and a rather rotund woman approached their table.

"Hello, Dickie!" The woman said, pinching his cheek, "How are you?"

"I'm fine, Rosie," Dick said with a grin.

The woman- Rosie- turned to Conner, "You must be that boy Dickie here told me about. What's your name, sweetie?"

"Uh… Conner."

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Conner," Rosie said, setting two menus down on the table, "I'll be back in a minute to take your orders."

"Thanks, Rosie," Dick said.

When Rosie left the table, Conner asked, "So… how do you-"

"Babs, Artemis, Wally, and I come here every Friday after school," Dick said, "Rosie's nice enough to give Wally a few orders of fries for free, considering that his orders could pay for this restaurant's electricity bill for a year."

Rosie came back a few minutes later to take their order. The teenagers ordered their food and went back to talking.

"Y'know, I'm glad we're doing this," Dick said, "I mean, it's probably best to get this done. Who cares what the media thinks, right?"

"Right," Conner said with a smirk. Dick was always one who didn't really care about how people thought about him, which was one of the many qualities he had that Conner admired.

"Anyway, the world's a lot more accepting about it. It's not like we're in the forties."

Conner nodded in agreement.

Rosie came back about fifteen minutes later with their food, as well as two milkshakes that they didn't order ("It's on the house, Dickie!").

"You were right, Dick," Conner said, after he swallowed a bite of the burger he had ordered, "The food here is great."

Dick chuckled, "Yeah. If you ask me, it's better that half the fancy restaurants here in Gotham."

Conner nodded, even though he didn't really get it. Even after four years, he still didn't understand the difference between a fancy restaurant and a fast food joint.

"So, how are things going at Gotham Academy?"

Dick smiled, "Great. Senior year's going great. Man, I can't believe I'm gonna graduate…"

"I know the feeling," Conner said, "You have any idea which college you're going to?"

"Bludhaven Police Academy," Dick said, "Bruce would rather have me attend Gotham University or Harvard or Stanford with Artemis and Wally, but he supports my decision anyway."

"Police academy… don't you think you'll end up pushing yourself too hard. I mean with… y'know…"

"Probably," Dick said, "But I don't want to sit behind a desk and be forced to do paper work all day, and you know I'm worse than Wally when it comes to sitting down for too long."

Conner snorted. Dick wasn't the type of guy to just _sit_ somewhere and be bored.

The clone of Superman sobered up quick. "Dick, you'd be in danger twenty-four hours a day… and unlike Nightwing, I can't be there for Officer Grayson."

Dick smiled, "Conner, it's sweet of you to worry, but I can take care of myself. Really. Anyway, I'm only going to root out the corruption. I only know of, like, three good cops in Bludhaven. After that, I swear I'll transfer to Gotham or Happy Harbor or something less dangerous than Bludhaven."

"Smallville," Conner said, "Transfer to Smallville. Only thing you have to worry about there is a thief trying to steal a few crops."

Dick laughed, "Sorry, farm boy, but I'm looking for somewhere with just a little more excitement."

"Can't blame me for trying."

"No, I can't," Dick leaned over to kiss Conner on the cheek.

A group of teenagers chose that moment to walk into the diner. Dick didn't really pay much attention, as he and Conner moved on to a conversation about the future. The teenagers, though, saw him, and didn't waste any time going to their table.

"Hey! It's Grayson!"

Conner heard Dick swear in something other than English.

"Hello, _Gay_son," one of the teenagers said. Conner assumed that this was the Leader of that little group.

"Stag," Dick said, voice icy cold, "We're kinda in the middle of a date here… could you please fuck off?"

"Well, since you asked so nicely… no."

Whoever this Stag guy was, he was pissing Conner off.

"This must be your queer friend. I bet you paid him to be your boyfriend, Gayson," another teen, the only girl in the group, said, "No way a guy like that could ever be gay."

Dick smirked, "You know what they say. All the hot guys are taken, gay, or fictional. Like your boyfriend."

The girl give him a very nasty glare, "Shut up, you fag!"

"Please. I know your secret, closet case," Dick said, "We could be good friends, you and I, if you were honest with yourself. Same goes with your 'boyfriend,' honey."

The boy who had been holding her hand swallowed hard.

"Please tell me this guy's kidding, Kate," Stag said.

"He… I… We're…"

"I don't believe this! I've been hanging around with faggots!"

Without warning, a red-headed girl poured a milkshake over Stag's head, which caused the boy to jump in surprise.

"Hey, Stag," the girl said, "The term 'faggot' is hurtful. Learn some respect, you bastard."

"Gordon! I could… I could-"

"You could what?"

Behind the red-haired girl stood Commissioner James Gordon.

"Oh, m-mister Gordon." Stag was now fumbling with his words, and Dick was laughing now.

"Leave these kids alone. Now."

"Y-yes s-s-sir, Commissioner G-Gordon s-s-sir."

The teenagers left, with the exception of that girl, Kate, and her "boyfriend."

"Hey," Kate said, "I'm… I'm sorry about that. I just… I didn't-"

"Hey, it's okay! You're not the only lesbian that's done that, I'm sure of it," Dick turned to the other girl, "Thanks for your help, Babs. And by the way, you owe me a milkshake."

"I chase away a few bullies, and you're making me pay for a milkshake," Barbara rolled her eyes. She glanced over at Conner and said, "See what your boyfriend puts me through?"

Dick rolled his eyes, "I know you love me."

"Well, duh," Barbara said. She turned to Kate and the other boy, "Good luck to you two. Trust me, you're among friends… even if I'm not a lesbian."

"Barbara, I think we should let them go about their business," Commissioner Gordon told his daughter, "Dick, please tell Bruce I said hello."

"You got it, Commissioner."

After Dick and Conner help Kate and the other kid, Miguel, sort out their issues, Dick paid for their dinner ("Conner, I swear to god, if you go for your wallet again, I'll take Miguel to prom instead" "Okay, okay, fine!"), the couple went for a walk in the park.

"So, how did you know Kate and Miguel weren't straight?"

"Miguel and I accidentally kissed once, and judging from that enormous blush on his face, I'd say he liked it. Plus, I caught him staring at my ass."

_Well, you __**do **__have a nice ass,_ Conner thought.

"And Kate… I guessed with Kate. I mean, she was dating Miguel, and sometimes people who are gay will date a lesbian in order to prevent themselves from being discovered. I assumed Miguel was just a cover-up for Kate, just as Kate was a cover-up for Miguel."

"Why would people do that kind of thing?"

"Numerous factors," Dick said, "As humans, we're vain creatures… we want people to like us. Some people just don't like homosexuality, so people hide it. But I've been in a circus for half my life, so I was always made fun of, and you learn to get used to the bashing from the media. Really, nothing's come to bother me, not really. Why should I care if people think my sexuality is wrong? I'm not going to hide my love. And…" Dick sighed, "Who the hell said that love had to be between a man and a woman, anyway?"

"Well, according to-"

Dick chuckled, "It's a rhetorical question, love."

"Oh. Right."

Conner wasn't really expecting Dick's lips to crash into his, but he recovered quickly to kiss back with just as much enthusiasm.

They didn't really notice the flash of a camera that came from one Vikki Vale.

* * *

Headlines on numerous papers all over the country read "Dick Grayson: Out of the Closet." Dick just laughed about it when Wally called him about it.

Bruce Wayne held a press conference later on that day, which made the news in every city.

"_This is Iris West-Allen, reporting for GBS News. It appears that the LBGT Community has received a major player in their movement, as Dick Grayson, eighteen-year-old adopted son of Bruce Wayne, came out yesterday. At a press conference held yesterday, he had this to say:_

"_That photo Vikki Vale wasn't altered or edited in any way. It's true- I'm gay. And I'm not afraid to say it. I never really made any attempt in hiding it. If someone asked, I'd tell them. One of my best friends, Barbara Gordon, asked me about it, like, two or three years ago, and I told her. I tell it to my closest friends, and they're okay with it. I don't see why everyone can't be okay with it. I don't see what's so wrong with loving someone. I don't see what's so wrong with being happy. I'm not going to hide who I am, my reputation be damned. And no, I will not be releasing the name of the guy I was kissing, because it's not my place to do so._

"_Dick Grayson also posted a lengthy statement on his Tumblr and Facebook entitled 'The Law of Love.' As for this reporter, I wish him nothing but the best. This is Iris West-Allen, reporting for GBS News."_

* * *

**A/N: I will submit "The Law of Love" as a separate story. It will basically just be Dick's thoughts on love.**


	12. Aster Drabbles VI

**A/N: This set of drabbles will include some pretty strong language (_especially_ the last one), as this is the F series...**

* * *

**Flawless**

Dick blinked at the use of the word Conner had described him as.

"Kon… I'm not flawless," Dick said, amused.

"You're flawless to me, Dick," Conner said, as he kissed his boyfriend.

* * *

**Fireflies**

The strange little insects, _commonly known as fireflies_, his brain told him, circled Conner's head in the warm July night. They fluttered through the black canvas lit up by the silver stars, their greenish-yellow glow casting a calming air around them.

"Aren't they beautiful, Conner?"

Conner looked down at the slighter teen sitting in his lap, back resting against his chest.

"Yeah," Conner said, as he wrapped his arms around Dick, "But they're not as beautiful as you."

* * *

**Family**

Even from the beginning, the team had always been a family.

For Conner and M'gann, and (to a certain extent) Kaldur, it was the only true family they had on Earth (or, in Kaldur's case, the surface). For Artemis, it was the family she craved. For Dick and Zatanna, it was their new family after their old one was taken from them. For Wally and Rocket, it was a place where they didn't feel alone.

They loved and cared for each other, would be there in their times of need, moral support for the things that stressed them out, the good and bad times, and anything in between.

Conner loved everyone in his family, and would be there in a heartbeat if any of them needed him… but if it were for Dick, he'd be there even faster. (He has yet to figure out why.)

* * *

**Feels**

"Dick, have you seen the latest episode of _Doctor Who_?"

"_**Yes!**_ I fucking cried! God, the _feels_!"

"I know, right!"

One of these days, Conner would figure out what Dick was talking about… just not today.

* * *

**Fear[less]**

Conner always thought Dick was fearless.

Even though Dick was currently shaking in his arms after an encounter with Scarecrow, mumbling something under his breath in his native language that Conner alone could understand, he still felt that way. Even as he held Dick tight and spoke to him in a low, soothing voice, nothing would change his mind.

Even the fearless have fears.

* * *

**Facebook (1)**

"Hey, Robin?"

"Yeah, Conner?"

"What is Facebook?"

Robin wasn't exactly sure how to describe this one to him. But, the clone had picked him to be the go-to guy for everything Cadmus has never told him about.

_Of course Cadmus wouldn't tell Conner about social networking sites._

"Well Conner, Facebook is a social networking site used to communicate with your friends."

"So, like, for missions?"

"No. For stupid things, like memes and stuff."

"…What are memes?"

* * *

**Funny**

"What's so funny?"

"Oh, nothing."

Dick would eventually let Conner know that there were a few inappropriate drawings on his boyfriend's face… but he really wanted to see other people's reactions to it first.

* * *

**Facebook (2)**

A few days after Dick revealed his identity to the team, he shouldn't have been surprised to receive a friend request from Conner.

* * *

**Falling in Love**

Conner supposed that he first noticed his feelings for Dick shortly after he revealed his identity. There was something about Dick that just made him happy.

Perhaps it was the way Dick moved with grace that made that of a coryphée look like a bull in a china shop. Perhaps it was his near perfect porcelain skin and gorgeous white teeth that showed when he gave that mischievous little grin. Perhaps it was his beautiful, expressive eyes that conveyed more emotion that anything. Maybe a combination of the three.

Whatever the reason, Conner knew he somehow fell in love with the little bird.

* * *

**Flying**

One of the things he wished he could do was fly. Sadly, Conner couldn't do so, and Lex Luthor was to blame.

But, he guessed Dick was better at flying than even Superman… maybe he'd ask for lessons.

* * *

**Fire**

The team, with the obvious exception of M'gann and Kaldur, sat close to the bonfire just outside of the mountain. The group had been exchanging stories like they had done when the team first formed.

Dick was snuggled up close to Conner, head resting on his shoulder. The fire was warm, and Conner's presence was calming and comforting…

…It was only a matter of time before Dick fell asleep against his boyfriend.

* * *

**F-Bombs**

Dick had been known to curse when he was stressed. But, it usually never went past the term "shit." However there were those times when he just had to let it out.

("Fucking hell!"

"I'm going to fucking kill him for hurting your feelings, Zee."

"Fuck you, Wally!"

"Oh fuck…")

Of course, there were times when Conner just didn't mind it.

("Oh, fuck, Conner. _Keep doing that."_)

* * *

**A/N: Yup.**


End file.
